A Dramione Tale: Inside Thoughts of Draco Malfoy
by MRDarling
Summary: The inner most thoughts of Draco Malfoy, the Golden Boy from Slytherin on school, the Dark Lord, and most of all, Hermione. This follows the time line of the 6th Harry Potter book HBP
1. Chapter 1 and 2

Note: This is my fanfiction on Draco Malfoy and the school of Hogwarts

I respect J.K Rowling's characters and magical words she uses and they are strictly hers. I do not own any rights to Harry Potter or any affiliated characters, all of it belongs to J.K. Rowling and any references to the films belong to Warner Brothers Co.

A Dramione tale: Inside thoughts of Draco Malfoy

Chapter 1

Draco Malfoy, a smart young man of almost 17 sits in his potions class staring blankly at the board in front of him as Professor Slughorn yammers on about a sleeping potion and how if you do not mix it just so you could cause the person who drinks it to be in a permanent coma. This part of the lesson was vaguely interesting. Draco's gray eyes shift around the small group of students taking potions class in their 6th year. Of course that Potter boy and Weasley are there which makes Draco roll his eyes, then that homely mudblood girl Granger was there too all at the same table. He was alone at his table, Crabbe and Goyle of course were too stupid to make it into the N.E.W.T's class for potions.

Finally, Professor Slughorn taps the board with his wand which the ingredients for the sleeping potion appears. It looks very complicated but doable. Draco, after all, was one of the top potions maker in the class besides Harry, which he has no idea how Harry got to be so good, and that mudblood Granger.

"Out of the way, you filthy mudblood!" Draco sneered at Hermione as he strolled past her table to get to the cabinet full of various ingredients, he made sure to bump into her. He shoves aside the pathetic Neville Longbottom causing him to bump into another student. Hermione just rolled her eyes at Malfoy and ignored his insult which made Draco a bit more miffed. He was starting to feel that his insults to the mudblood are not causing the same reactions like they use to. He loved seeing her eyes flash angrily and her face get red. He loved listening to her retaliate right back at him. He noticed she was always quick with good insults which sometimes caused Draco to be stunned for a moment trying to come up with another insult to throw back at her.  
Draco grabbed the ingredients he needed to make his sleeping potion and set his cauldron on top of the small fire. He took the flat side of his knife to squeeze the juice from the pearly white beans then dumped the juices into the cauldron along with various other ingredients. He read his potions book then back at the board to make sure his potion is turning a light blue colour. He smiled at his progress and glanced over at the Golden Trio.

Hermione's bushy hair was getting bushier as she mixed up her potion and staring daggers at Harry who seemed to be doing just fine with his potion. Ron was staring at his book blankly trying to figure out what he has to do next. Draco couldn't stand the Golden Trio. They get away with everything! Just look at that mudblood, she should be expelled because she's such a know-it-all. The Potter boy is annoying in thinking he's the "Chosen One" and strutting around the school and that Weasley, he needs to go too, that red hair and being poor was a sin.

Draco shook his head, he has to concentrate on his potion. He stirs the potion clockwise for two minutes then stirs counter-clockwise for a minute before adding the final ingredient. He picks up the dragon bile and very carefully measures it out on his scale, once it is right he dumps the dragon bile into the potion mixture and stirs. He reads how long he has to stir clockwise. Four minutes it says and then the potion should turn to a midnight blue. Draco stirs his potion and looks over at the Golden Trio again. He ignores the others around him became lost in thought.

That Granger girl was very smart. He hates her for it. If she wasn't in the school he would the top of the class. He looks at Hermione from bushy hair down to her black mary-jane shoes thinking she's not too bad. Granted she has to do something with that hair. Wait, he recalled how she looked for the Yule Ball in their fourth year. She walked into the room with Victor Krum in a stunning dress and her hair was even tame. He couldn't find any wrong thing to say about how she looked at night. In fact, he had felt a slight pang of jealousy seeing her on Victor's room and smiling up at him with her bright eyes. Her eyes are very lovely.

He smirked a little bit watching her put in her last bit ingredient of dragon bile into her cauldron then glance over at him. Her eyes catching his and one of her eyebrows raised up.

_Great, the mudblood girl is watching me.I have to look at something else!_ thought Draco. Her eyes startled him, he was not expecting to see her bright, intelligent eyes look over at him. He gave her a sneer before turning his head to look down at his potions trying to remember how long he has to stir it for.

_Right, four minutes. The mudblood looked at me and made me lose my concentration. How long have I been stirring now? What! 5 minutes!_ thought Draco.

He quickly pulled his potion's spoon out of the cauldron. The potion was starting to turn black and get a little thick. Hopefully, his potion will be alright. He got his vile out and pours a little bit inside of it, labels it then hands it over to Professor Slughorn.

"Jolly good, Mr. Malfoy! It looks a tad bit thick. I may have to dock points for that! You should learn from Mr. Potter." said Professor Slughorn giving Potter a beaming smile. Draco had the sudden urge to make the Professor drink that thick sleeping potion for even daring to say he needs to learn from that Potter boy. Instead, Draco nodded his head and walked off towards his table to clean up. He waves his wand over his cauldron and the potion vanishes. He puts all of his supplies back into his bag neatly. Everything has to be neat and just so. He walked out of potions class and since he has time to spare he needs to work on the vanishing cabinet in the Room of Requirements.

He was proud to be asked to work on the vanishing cabinet. Voldemort came to him with a plan to get inside of Hogwarts and set a trap. He was not proud that his other task was to kill Dumbledore, his headmaster. True, Dumbledore was crazy and losing his edge but Draco did not feel like Dumbledore needed to die. He knew Dumbledore was the only wizard that Voldemort ever feared and with him out of the way Voldemort's path was clear for taking over the wizarding world.

Draco knew that Voldemort was angry with his father and asked Draco to kill Dumbledore as a punishment to him and his father. Draco felt the weight of this on his shoulders. If he did not kill Dumbledore or finish repairing the vanishing cabinet, Draco and his family will die. This was how Voldemort liked to work, threaten people and use people to get what he wants. Draco has had nightmares of the Dark Lord coming to his house and using the killing curse on his mother, and father then turning to him. Draco would wake up sweating and breathing fast. He truly feared the Dark Lord and that was how the Dark Lord wanted it to be. To be feared by all and be the greatest wizard of all once Dumbledore was gone.

Draco has attempted to kill Dumbledore with the cursed necklace. He imperioused Madame Rosemerta to give the necklace to the first girl to walk into the restroom but his plan backfired. He thought the necklace would be good enough, just a good touch of the necklace and Dumbledore would be gone. He does however have that woman keeping tabs on Dumbledore for him so he knows when Dumbledore leaves the castle. Second time he will have to come up with something better. Maybe use one of the professors in the school to do it without the professor realising he or she is helping Draco kill Dumbledore.

At the Room of Requirements, Draco stepped inside, the room is filled with so many things from old spell books, robes, chairs and desks, goblets, wigs and the Vanishing Cabinet in the far corner. He stepped over to the black wooden cabinet running his pale hands over the wood for a moment. He was proud of what he has done so far with the cabinet. He hopes he does not have more in repairing the cabinet. Maybe, once the job is done he and his family could go into hiding. Yes, that would be a good idea, go into hiding, take all their gold out of Gringotts and live in another country, maybe Bulgaria. No, not Bulgaria. That Victor Krum lives there and maybe still pines for that filthy mudblood with the intelligent eyes.

Draco slammed the palm of his hand against the cabinet thinking about how Granger looked so happy and bright eyed on Victor's arm. The that image still gets under his skin and he doesn't know why. He use to like Victor, the Bulgarian seeker, until he set his sights on the Mudblood girl Granger. Draco was starting to get a headache and has to get to work on the vanishing cabinet.

He had an hour to work on the cabinet before his next class. He repaired and tested, repaired some more then tested once again. He used various items in the room to test the cabinet. He used an old "Hogwarts, A History" book and half of it vanished. He used a small footstool and half of it vanished. His headache was getting worse. He thought he would have made some kind of improvement from the last time he worked on it but he seems to be stuck. He will have to go back to the library to find books on how to fix magical items and make more notes. He was one of the smartest students in his year, he knows he can fix the vanishing cabinet. He had a tiny hope in his heart that maybe, just maybe, that Granger girl will be there when he goes looking for books. She always seemed to be in the library and carrying so many books she could barely see over the top of them as she walks. Draco smirked slightly thinking about how she walks with so many books and wonders at how the weight of the books haven't crushed her body.

After his final class was over, which happened to be Herbology, he walked into the Great Hall for dinner. He was starving and his headache was starting to subside. He has not thought about the cabinet, the Dark Lord or that mudblood for a couple of hours. He sat down at his house table with the other Slytherins. Pansy, that awful girl, was sitting a few people away from him. He hoped she would not notice him sitting down. She was so dense just like Crabbe and Goyle. Granted, he sometimes didn't mind the attention Pansy gave him, only when he wanted it. He saw his two sidekicks walk over to the table and sit down on either side of him, grab plates and filled them up with food.

"You two are such pigs" sneered Draco and turned his attention elsewhere while Crabbe and Goyle gorged on food. Draco was always careful with eating his food, he hates when a drop of food gets onto his robes. His robes are always the best of the best, his black slacks and Slytherin school sweater always looking crisp and clean. His tie he keeps around his neck but he may not always have it done up. He finished off his lamb stew and pumpkin juice. He spots the Gold Trio walking into the Great Hall causing him to smirk to himself. He could always get that Potter boy and Weasley upset and start a fight. That was easy but the mudblood always seems to get to Draco with her quick and biting remarks.

"I was reading the Daily Prophet about a witch who won a hundred thousand galleons. I bet the Weasel family wished they had that to buy a house with more than one room!" said Draco loudly which caused some of the Slytherins to snigger behind their hands and look over at Ron. Ron was turning red like his hair, his hands shook which was just what Draco wanted. "Too bad, Mrs. Weasel could use a new look too, have you seen her robes and how fat she is?" he said loudly, he heard Ron make a loud roar of anger which made Draco smirk more. He has Ron angry now and it was time to work on the Potter boy who was holding Ron back. Hermione was staring daggers at Draco and her cheeks flushed with anger. If looks could kill, Draco was sure he would be dead many times over the past several years.

"Let me at him! Let go Harry!" yelled Ron and was swinging his fists in the air as Harry held him back.

"Good thing Weasel-be has the "Chosen One" to keep him in check! You get offended too "Chosen One" about Weasel-be's mum being fat? You wish your mum was alive, eh Potter?" Draco laughed and Harry glared at him. Draco didn't see Hermione get up from the Gryffindor table. She was suddenly in front of him, her eyes flashing, he loved her eyes flashing angrily. His heart skipped a beat and he was slack-jawed for a moment at how bold she was for walking to the Slytherin table by herself. He was not sure why his heart skipped a beat. His fellow Slytherins got very quiet around him wanting to know what would happen next. Crabbe and Goyle flexed their huge hands glaring at the Mudblood girl.

"How dare you, you are one to talk Malfoy!" she yelled at him, since Draco was sitting down at his table he has to look up at her angry face. She raised a hand and he winced remembering that time she slapped him in his third year because of a hippogriff. Granted, that hippogriff was a menace to society and that Hagrid actually defended the hippogriff that almost ripped off Draco's arm.

"Your father now in Azkaban and your mother who looks like she smelled something foul the way her lip curls, maybe it's because of you" smirked Hermione as she put her hand down. Draco's pale cheeks flushed with anger and his gray eyes narrowed. Hermione always says things that got him so angry. Harry and Ron's insults never seem to hurt but Hermione's insults gets right to his heart. He stood up quickly, he was much taller than the mudblood girl and he squared off his shoulders, his lips in a tight line.

"What did you say to me?" Draco said in a deadly whisper. His gray eyes flashing with hatred. He could see Hermione's smirk fade from her lips and she backed away from him reaching into her robe for her wand. "How dare you speak to me like that you filthy mudblood!" roared Draco. He reached inside of his robe pocket to grab his wand but Hermione was faster. She pointed her wand at Draco's chest with a determined face, like she was steeling herself to attack him.

"What is the meaning of this? Two prefects fighting? I am ashamed and more ashamed that one of the prefects came from MY house!" cried Professor McGonagall. She hurried to the Slytherin table looking fierce at the two of them as she bore down on them. "Put your wands away this instant! 20 points from both of you for bad behavior! Dueling in the Great Hall! And detention!" she glared at both of them with her sharp eyes and waited for them to put their wands away.

Hermione tucked her wand into her pocket watching Draco closely. Draco was not about to attack a student in front of a teacher. That would be idiotic and something Harry or Ron would do. He has to stay in the school to finish the cabinet and keep his family alive. He put his wand away inside of his pocket as well giving Hermione a menacing smirk. He turned away from Professor McGonagall and Hermione.

Chapter 2:

Draco could not believe he got detention. He has to work on the cabinet and after classes was the best time to do it. He still has such a long way with getting it to work properly. Half of a book or stool would not be acceptable for the Dark Lord.  
It was ten minutes to eight when Draco left the Slytherin common room down in the dungan. He scolded himself on the way to McGonagall's classroom. He should not have let Granger get him that upset. He could have lost his prefect badge or worse, been expelled from Hogwarts.

He got to the Transfiguration classroom with five minutes to spare. He looked around the hallway for any signs of Granger. He leaned his back against the wall thinking. Despite Granger's biting insults about his father and mother, Granger was an angry beauty to behold. Maybe this was why he loved insulting her. She made his heart beat fast and she was always unafraid to fight him unlike many of the other students in Hogwarts. She was a challenge and he liked that. He shook his head. He has to stop thinking about that mudblood.

He heard footsteps coming fast in the hallway and Granger appears around the corner looking a bit winded. She held a hand against her side, her brown hair flying every which way. Draco smirks at her.

"Both of you, inside my classroom now" said Professor McGonagall holding the large wooden door open for both of them. "You will be writing lines tonight", she nods over to the two desks side by side in the classroom. Hermione shoves past Draco with her nose in the air, she walked over to the desk then sat down.

"Did you see that Professor, she shoved me! She didn't ask me to move out of her way" cried Draco.

"Kindly sit down Mr. Malfoy so we can start detention. Ms. Granger, next time do not shove!" said Professor McGonagall. Hermione sniffed and looked away from Draco as she got her parchment out on the desk. Draco sat down in the desk beside Hermione's.  
Draco got his parchment and quill out as well. He dipped his quill into his inkwell then began to write the lines that Professor McGonagall wants them to write.

_I am a Prefect and therefore must act accordingly. My duty is to be an example to my fellow classmates and be a proper example on how to behave._

Both of them must write this one hundred times. Draco's hand started cramping after the tenth line. His handwriting was always perfect, each letter written carefully but after writing so many lines his writing became sloppy, he just wanted to get the lines completed so he could go back to the common room and push the lower classmen out of the emerald green armchairs by the fire and relax and not think about anything.

His mind starts to wander as he writes the lines. He wonders how far Granger has gotten with her lines. He glanced over at her parchment, she was halfway down the parchment. He looks over at her face. She was concentrating on her lines, her dark brows furrowed together and her lips looking determined in wanting to get her work completed.

_She doesn't seem to look too badly for a mudblood. I wish she would do something about her bushy hair. She biting her lip now? Yes, she is. She has nicely shaped lips, wait, what am I thinking? If my father knew about this, well...she has small hands. Look at the ink stains on them. She needs to take better care of her hands._

"Mr. Malfoy, is there something the matter? There some reason why your eyes are not on your paper and writing?" asked Professor McGonagall from her desk. She looked over her square glasses at him, her hands clasped together looking stern.

"No, Professor McGonagall. There is nothing." Draco said and looked back down at his parchment paper and began writing once more.

_Professor McGonagall caught me staring at the mudblood girl. Sometimes I really hate that old witch. I wish she would turn into toad and hop away or maybe get picked up by that Longbottom brat and kept as a pet._

He smirked to himself thinking about Professor McGonagall as a toad and Neville Longbottom hugging the toad to his chest. He sniggered softly shaking his head at this mental picture then heard Professor McGonagall clear her throat and glare down at him from her desk. Draco glanced up at her, his smirk fading from his lips and bent his head lower to the parchment to keep writing.  
After what seemed like hours, Professor McGonagall stood up and picked up their parchment papers from each of them. She stared down at them in their desks. Hermione shrunk back into her chair as she peered up at the professor. Draco, however, looked at the professor square in the face with a look of defiance. He will not be intimidated by anyone! He was Draco Malfoy!

"Tomorrow and the day after you two will have Prefect duties together. Yes...together Ms. Granger" said Professor McGonagall and held her hand up to keep Hermione from talking. Hermione closed her mouth. "I have spoken to my fellow teachers and they all agree as punishment for almost having a duel in the Great Hall, Prefect duties together is the best option. Stop making that face Mr. Malfoy!...As I was saying, you will walk the halls of the school from 9pm until 11:30pm and report any students roaming the hallways. Report to me tomorrow at nine sharp or I may extend this punishment. That is all, you may go." she nodded her head towards her class door.

Draco unfolded himself from the desk looking livid. Prefect duties with that Granger girl! This was outrageous! He grumbled all the way to the door. He didn't bother to hold the door open for the mudblood girl. Once in the hallway, he turned around glaring at Hermione. Hermione glared right back at him and her mouth set firmly.

"You have no idea what you have done. I have very, and I do mean very, very important things I must do." he growled at her and stepped closer trying to intimidate her with his size. She squared her shoulders and did not back down from him. For a moment he admired that even though he is so much taller and stronger she did not back down from him like many other people around him.

"Well, you shouldn't have been trying to pick a fight with Harry and Ron in the first place then we wouldn't be in this mess. Have you thought about that Malfoy? Hmm?" she said with a scowl then turned on her heels and walked down the hallway, her bushy hair bouncing behind her.

"I'm not finished talking with you yet, Mudblood!" Draco yelled after her. "Just you wait Mudblood!"

"I'm going to bed Malfoy, I don't feel like arguing with a brick wall" Hermione yelled over her shoulder at him then vanished around the corner.

Draco cursed to himself as he walked down the hallway and stairs to get to the dungeon. He felt a sharp pain on his left ear as it got pulled on. Professor Snape was holding his left ear in his hand and pushed Draco over against the wall holding him there.

"You foolish boy! You could have been expelled!" snarled Snape, his face white with anger. Draco tried to pull away from Snape but held unto his ear firmly causing more pain.

"Argh,let go of me!" yelled Draco and glared up at Snape with hatred.

"You could have ruined the Dark Lord's plans you stupid boy! Do you want to be killed?" snarled Snape once more. Draco shook his head and winced from the pain. "Then, I would advise you to watch...your...actions... Mr. Malfoy. Another slip up like this could send you packing your trunk", he let go of Draco's ear roughly then smoothed down his black robes. "Get to the common room now. Seems I must keep a closer watch on you."

"Don't boss me about. I know what I'm doing" said Draco and shrugged his robes back into place before walking down the final flight of stairs to get to the Slytherin common room. Some students were sitting against the walls playing wizard chess or doing homework. He saw Crabbe and Goyle sitting on the floor near the large hearth talking. Pansy Parkinson was curled up in an emerald armchair reading.

Draco walked over to the great hearth shoving a first year out an armchair and Pansy sniggered at the first year.

"Shove off!" he said to the frightened first year who ran off to a safer place. Draco gracefully sat down in the chair in front of the fire. His arms rested on the armrests and his fingers pressed together as he thought.

_Prefect duties with the Granger girl for two nights in a row. _ _This is not possible! I have to work on the cabinet! She has no idea who she's messed with. Stupid mudblood! I should ask Snape if I can drop my prefect duties. Hm, I wonder if I have any cauldron cakes left in my trunk. What is Pansy talking about? She always waffles on about rubbish. She won't stop looking at me. I hate that girl._

"Draco, did you hear me? I asked about detention with that horrible Granger girl." Pansy said as she waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention. Draco shoved her hand away from him and gave her a dirty look.

"It was fine. Now shut your mouth. I don't feel like talking to you" he said and Pansy looked hurt by what he said but he didn't care.

"I'm going to bed. I can feel the stupidity radiating in this room" he spat and looked over at Crabbe and Goyle who looked back at Draco stupidly. Crabbe smiled. Draco pushed himself out of his armchair and shoved two students who happened to be in his way aside.

Draco walked into the large bedroom chamber where he shares the room with three other Slytherins in his year. He kicked over his trunk and bent down searching through his things for his leftover cauldron cakes. He found the box his mother sent him and sat on his bed, alone and stuffed a whole cake into his mouth and chewed.  
He hoped that his duties with the Granger girl will go by quickly the next two nights. He wondered what it would be like to spend time with her without her two boyfriends hanging on her arms. That Potter and Weasely. They are horrible and Draco can not see why people love them so much and that they get away with everything.

He thought about how Hermione almost slapped him earlier in the Great Hall. He winced rubbing the side of his face where Hermione had slapped him before in their 3rd year. After she had slapped him in his 3rd year, he was so stunned. He could not think of one thing to say to her. He obviously could not mention the slap to his father that he, Draco Malfoy, got slapped by a mudblood. No one has ever spoken to him that way or treated him the way Hermione did that fateful day. He always got what he wanted and did what he wanted as well as said what he wanted then Hermione, overcome with so much anger, slapped his precious face. At that moment, Draco could only stare at her in shock and silence. He finally saw Hermione for what she was at that moment. He knew right then that she was a girl, a smart one, a very brave one, sometimes a pretty one and a loyal friend.

Since then, Draco kept noticing Hermione. Before his fourth year started at Hogwarts,at the Quidditch World Cup with the Death Eaters were rounding up the Muggles that were there and lifted them into the air. Draco became worried but would not admit it to anyone. He personally sought out the Golden Trio and revealed himself to them. He told them to protect Hermione and to keep out of the way. Granted, he did want her to die in his second year when the Chamber of Secrets was opened but after the slap he came to, kind of in his own way, care for the mudblood girl.

He would never admit it to himself, caring for a mudblood girl, but he doesn't want to see her get hurt and he was sometimes scared for her. He hopes that the Death Eaters will leave her alone or that she will be fast enough to get away. But, what if she wasn't fast enough; Draco shuddered at the thought of what could happen to the mudblood girl. He shook his head to get rid of the awful thoughts of what the Dark Lord could do to Granger.

He grabbed his school books to start on his homework. Though, what was the point of the homework when he was with the Death Eaters. He felt pressured into being a Death Eater. His father was one and has taught him his whole life to hate all non-pureblooded wizards or wizards who loved Muggles. His mother said he was a boy and should not join but he had to. The Dark Lord would kill his family and had plans for him. He had boasted to the other Slytherins, Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy that he was a Death Eater and had plans with the Dark Lord. That earned him more respect and awe but deep down, he was very scared. He could not show his true feelings. He was Draco Malfoy after all. He was the Golden Boy in the Slytherin House.

Finally, Draco was too exhausted with doing homework and his mind was exhausted too. He had to get some sleep. He pulled on his green and silver pajamas and climbed into bed before the other three boys came into the room. He closed his green bed curtains around his bed then drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Draco, wake up! You are going to be late" shouted Crabbe who pulled back the curtains around his bed. Draco opened his gray eyes with a groan. The light was so bright that he had to hold his hand up over his face for a moment until his eyes adjusted.

"Ugh, what do you want Crabbe? Get off my bed! How dare you!" grumbled Draco as he sat up in the bed and shoved Crabbe away. Crabbe scowled at him and tapped his wrist watch.

"You are going to be late" said Crabbe then walked out of the room.

"I didn't know you could tell time Crabbe. You and Goyle keep surprising me. You ought to stop that." said Draco. He stumbled out of the bed and quickly pulled off his pajamas then into his school uniform of black slacks, gray socks, gray sweater with Slytherin colours around the neckline and sleeves then pulled on his robe. He ruffled his blond hair with his hand and looked in the mirror checking himself out. He has to look perfect. He tilted his head side to side then nodded his head. "Perfect, as always Draco." he said to himself.

In the Great Hall, he quickly ate his breakfast before heading off to his first class of the day which happened to be Transfiguration. He did not feel like sitting in Professor McGonagall's classroom. He was in it enough last night doing detention for the old hag. He sat down in his usual spot near the back of the room. He likes to sit near the back that way he can look at all the pathetic students trying so hard to transfigure items into other things and laugh at them.

"Today, we will be learning how to transfigure frogs into a teapot. Like so..."she said and waved her wand over a large frog. The frog transformed into a pink, flowered teapot then back into a frog. The frog blinked blankly after turning back.

"This is so stupid. When am I ever going to need to turn a frog into a teapot?" Draco mumbled over to Crabbe and Goyle who both sniggered.

"Is there a problem Mr. Malfoy?" asked Professor McGonagall. Draco quickly grabbed his wand waving it over the frog saying the spell to transfigure it. His frog turned into a teapot with two frog legs on either side of the pot. "Seems you need to stop talking and continue perfecting your skills" said Professor McGonagall before walking off to check on her other students. Then Draco heard "Well done Ms. Granger!" then saw a beaming Granger looking at her very ornate teapot with a gold handle.

"Of course, the insufferable know-it-all Granger outwitted us all once more in class! Well Done!" drawled Draco then looked over to Hermione with a mock smile. Hermione turned to glare at him. Professor McGonagall seemed to not have noticed his snide remarks to Hermione.

"Shut it Malfoy!" said Harry who was sitting a couple of seats in front of him "Leave Hermione alone". Ron was turning red and looked like he wanted to hex Draco.

"Don't worry about it Harry. Malfoy is just jealous that a mudblood like me beat him once more in using spells" smirked Hermione over at Draco and her eyes flashed. Harry and Ron chuckled and turned back to their frogs. Draco clenched his hand around his wand wanting to hit her or grab her. He's not sure which one he would like to do more. She caught him off guard with her comment once again. He hates when she does that. Draco couldn't think of a comeback to retaliate so he gave Hermione a glare before turning his hopping teapot back into a frog to try once more.

_That mudblood speaking to me again! How dare she try to belittle me in front of the students! She is always number one in every class! Ugh, my teapot is trying to hop away again. I need to concentrate and not think about that...that...girl over there. Oh, she infuriates me!_

He waved his wand over the frog for a third attempt and finally, he too had a very ornate teapot that spouted off steam. Professor McGonagall seemed pleased that a second student was able to perform the spell perfectly. Draco looked quite pleased with himself. Crabbe and Goyle have not performed their spells perfectly at all. Neville, that silly boy, had his face screwed up in concentration as he waved his wand and only managed to poke the frog in the side. Harry had a teapot on his desk but it wiggled and fell off smashing on the floor. Ron waved his wand around and his frog had blue sparks come from its mouth.

_I can not believe I am in a room with heaps of idiots. How did they ever get into this class in the first place. Father was right, this place accepts all kinds of trash who think they can do magic. So pathetic._

Class ended with Professor McGonagall giving them homework, twelve inches of parchment on the mechanics of turning a frog into a teapot to be turned in for next class. Easy work! Draco shoved people out of his way to get out of the classroom and Crabbe and Goyle followed as always. Crabbe and Goyle are so thick. They have to have someone to follow and tell them what to do which was why Draco became fast friends with them. They are easy to manipulate to get them to do Draco's bidding. Draco has been using Crabbe and Goyle for his cabinet restoration. They both are his lookout men while Draco works in the Room of Requirement. Draco found the polyjuice potion in one of the more advanced potions book and took the ingredients out of Snape's storage cupboard. Crabbe and Goyle turn into little first year girls with the polyjuice potion for Draco's amusement. He loved seeing them both as pathetic little first years holding scales and looking scared in the hallway. He had them turn into little first year girls because most of the student population would not pay them much attention and would think they are harmless. He has heard the Granger girl try to help Goyle who dropped his potions scales on the floor when Draco was in the Room of Requirement. Goyle had dropped the scales, of course, because that was a signal for Draco to stay in the room until the coast was cleared.

Draco spent most of the day pondering about when he would be able to get back to the Room of Requirements and Prefect duties with Granger. At 8:55pm he bolted from the Slytherin common room and took the stairs two at a time to get to Professor McGonagall's classroom in time. He was so busy thinking and doing homework he almost forgot to keep up with the time. He made it with one minute to spare. He panted softly and his pale cheeks were flushed from running. Hermione was already there tapping her foot and looking haughty.

"Running late are we Malfoy?" she smirked at him. Draco scowled down at her and was about to tell her off when Professor McGonagall stepped out of her classroom looking at both of them sternly.

"Oh, you both are here on time. Perfect. Now, you know your duties. Report back to me at 11:30 sharp when your time is up. You may go" she waved them off.

Hermione turned on her heels and stalked off down the hallway quickly. Draco growled to himself as he followed behind Hermione. He wanted to get these next two nights over with and hoped to never have to be paired with her again. Pansy was annoying to be paired with during duties. She liked to waffle on about stupid things that bored him to death and wished that one of Hagrid's blast-ended skrewt would eat her. It was hard to hold an intelligent conversation with her.

They both head for the fifth floor near the Ravenclaw tower to start their rounds. It was an awkward silence for almost a half hour. Draco kept a smirk on his face as they both roamed the hallways. He walked in front of her which was how it should be. He has never been by himself with the Granger girl. She always had her stupid, pathetic friends by her side, that Potter and Weasley. Draco always had his minions by his side too, Crabbe and Goyle and sometimes Pansy who would hang on his arm and scream in laughter at other students and set Draco's teeth on edge.

Draco felt something brush against his hand and glanced down by his side to see Granger walking right beside him, her sleeve had brushed against his pale hand.

"What are you doing Mudblood? You ought to be following behind me. I AM better than you after all" he barked at her. Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her bushy head ignoring him as they walk side by side.

"Look, we have to do this together. And I am not walking behind you any more. I'm tired of seeing the back of your fat head Malfoy" she said giving him a scowl. "I could walk in front of you." she pushed past Draco to get in front of him but he grabbed her wrist quickly. This was the second time they had physical contact, the first time was the slap in his third year. His fingers gripped her wrist firmly and shoved her back behind him with a bit of force. Hermione stumbled back behind Draco trying to catch her balance.

"I do not want to see the back of your bushy head Granger. A Mudblood like you ought to respect pure blooded wizards like myself" he snapped at her and let go of her wrist. He could still feel the warmth of her skin, he rubbed his hand against his robe to try to get rid of the warmth. Hermione dared to openly scoff at him. He will show her.

"Respect YOU? How dare you say something like that to me Malfoy!" she turned her face up at him with anger in her eyes and stepped back beside him once more. Draco's heart gave a small leap in seeing her eyes. Why does this always happen to him when Hermione gets angry?

They rounded the corner of the hallway in awkward silence once more, both walking side by side. The other pair of Prefects on duty showed up from Hufflepuff. It was the Hufflepuff pair's turn to walk around the Ravenclaw tower. Draco and Hermione's next spot is by the Gryffindor common room. They climbed down a couple of flights of stairs, Hermione trying to get ahead of Draco and Draco trying to keep her back behind him. This fight continued all the way to the floor where the Gryffindors stay.

"Damn you Granger! I said to stay behind me! I do not want to see your bushy head in front of me. Stupid Mudblood!" he roared at her and starting to lose his patience with her. Hermione points down the empty hallway and Draco turns to see what she was pointing at but there was nothing in the hallway.

"Oh, stop complaining Malfoy! We have to walk the hallways now. Let's go" she dropped her hand by her side. "You know, I'm tired of being called Mudblood all the time. I mean, you are one of the smartest students...after me of course...but you could come up with better insults". Draco grumbled and decided to not say anything to her.

Did she just give me a compliment? I have no idea what to say to her now. Curse you Granger! Grr, her stupid sleeve keeps brushing my hand. Does she have to be this close to me? Why couldn't she walk behind me where she ought to be? I AM better than her. Her blood is mud and mine is pure. Look, a wittle firstie walking past after hours. Was I really that small as a first year?

Draco stepped forward towards the small Gryffindor first year boy holding a pile of books. The first year gave a surprise yelp and nearly dropped his books seeing Draco swooping down on him quickly.

"You there! You are out after hours! Get to your common room now! Five points from Gryffindor for being late and five more for looking like a troll!" snarled Draco and shoved the small first year boy towards the common room rather hard. The first year stumbled dropping his load of books. Hermione glared at Draco and bent down to help pick up the books and gently patted the first year on the back. The small boy whimpered softly and hurried away to his common room. Hermione wheeled around giving Draco a glare of death.

"I did nothing wrong. The little troll was late and deserved what he got" he said firmly and glared right back at her. Both of them standing toe to toe and inches apart from each other in the hallway.

You...you are a Prefect and should not have abused your powers like that! You stupid ferret!" she yelled at him and placed her hand on his chest and shoved him back. He took a step back from the shove surprised once more by her actions. "You are always so mean and hateful to everyone. No wonder people hate you so much!" she was so angry she was shaking.

"What did you say to me?" he whispered and was becoming so angry his pale cheeks flushed red and clenched his hands into fists.

"You heard me. AND you are pathetic Malfoy! Prancing around the school thinking you are better than everyone else! You are dirt Malfoy! Both you and your parents are dirt! You say I should respect you? Why should I when you treat your inferiors like that little first year like they are nothing! I feel sorry for you Malfoy! Your parents obviously did not do a good job in raising their only son" she was so angry that tears were starting to well up. Draco was so surprised by what she said he had to take a moment to process everything. Then, he could not control himself. She had insulted him on so many levels.

He grabbed her shoulder hard and his other hand grabbed her wrist. She was going for her wand and he did not want to be hexed. He held her wrist firmly as she struggled to free her wrist. He pushed her up against the stone wall and leaned in very closely. He could see himself reflected back at him in her brown eyes.

"How dare you speak to me that way! You do not know ANYTHING about me!" he yelled at her then spoke in a deadly whisper near her ear and caused Hermione to tremble under his hands, "you should not have said those things to me Granger. You know nothing about me or my life." Hermione looked pale and frightened. For a moment, Draco felt very bad for being so rough with her. He should not have shoved her against the wall. She had pushed him too far and caused him to lose control. No one has ever done that before in his life until he met the Granger girl. His pale face that was contorted with rage softened at seeing her scared face.

Hermione seemed to have gained back some of her courage when his face softened. She tried to shove him away from her. Her small hand on his chest pushing but Draco would not budge. Hermione's face looked up at his and he can see in her eyes that something clicked. He knows she is seeing the Great Draco Malfoy, Golden Boy of Slytherin house for what he was. His face softened more. He looked down at her with his gray eyes, eyebrows furrowed together and thinking.

_Why can't I let her go? She got me into such a rage I should be hexing her. She always gets me flustered. She is right, I am dirt. I do abuse my powers as a Prefect, though it is quite fun. Really fun. I should treat my inferiors better but they seem to be so small or stupid and easy to push around. Her body is still shaking. I scared her that much? I feel kind of badly about it. What am I doing? Stop moving your arms Draco!_

His moved his long arms around Hermione drawing her into a hug. He has no idea why he was doing this, maybe it was because he felt so badly in scaring the poor girl. His arms will not control themselves but he wanted to make her feel safe, that he really was not a very bad person like she thought he was. He hugged her smaller body against his larger one for a moment before shoving her away from him like she burned him.

"Get away from me, you Mudblood!" he yelled at her and stomped off down the hallway.


	3. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Much of the rest of their Prefect duties remained in silence. Hermione almost spoke to him a couple of times but he threw her looks that kept her mouth shut but she had that annoying smirk in the corners of her mouth. After reporting back to Professor McGonagall, he walked quickly back to the Slytherin dungeon. Pansy tried to speak with him and tempt him to lay his head down on her lap by the fire but he shoved her away. Crabbe and Goyle were arm wrestling each other and both tried to speak to him and he roared at them. He was in such a foul mood, he wanted to hex every single person in that common room. They deserved it! They needed to be hexed!

He was glad to be alone in the shared bed chambers. He pulled of his school uniform and tossed them into his trunk. He walked over to the elongated mirror in the corner of the room with snakes along the sides. He stared at his pale face then looked down over his broad chest and muscular arms then back up to his handsome, pale face.

"Draco, you willingly touched a filthy mudblood. You are completely mental" he said to himself watching his mouth move in the mirror as he spoke. "Pull yourself together mate. Never, ever touch that girl again." He shook his head angrily then pulled on his silver and green striped pajamas. He threw himself onto his bed and closed the curtains quickly. He heard people coming towards the bed chambers and did not want to speak to any of them. He laid down and pretended to sleep listening to the hushed voices.  
Physical contact with the Mudblood once more. How many times have they touched now? Maybe three times, he was not sure. He tossed in his bed unable to get himself to sleep. He scolded himself for hugging the mudblood. That wave of pity for the girl in scaring her made him angry at himself. He became weak at that moment. He was never weak! He's a Malfoy. It made him feel vulnerable. Being vulnerable was not a good thing, he has to stay focused and in control at all times.

Then, he could not keep his mind from wandering to how she felt. She was small compared to him. Her body was warm pressed against the front of his body. He flushed thinking about her body against his. She was also soft. Her bushy hair smelled nice, a light floral scent. He was so close to her, her eyelashes were long and her lips shapely. He shook his head back and forth and placed his hands over his eyes. This was driving him crazy, he has to get to sleep. He forced himself to go to sleep. His exhausted body finally went to sleep and he slept very soundly. By morning, he will not remember any of the dreams he had but had sneaking feeling that one or two were about that Granger girl.

OOOOOOO

"Ten points from Hufflepuff just because...well, you are a Hufflepuff!" roared Draco in the hallway outside of the Great Hall. Dinner was over and people were heading back to their common rooms or to the library. A third year Hufflepuff happened to walk right in front of Draco. Draco shoved the poor boy hard into another Hufflepuff and took off points. He was still in a foul mood. People parted away from him as he, Crabbe and Goyle walked down the hallway. He stayed away from the Granger girl most of the day and never spoke a word to her. Harry and Ron tried to pick a fight with him during Potions class but Draco noticed how Hermione hushed them up quickly.

"Crabbe, Goyle! I have two hours until I do my Prefect duties." he looked at both of them. He pushed their heads together closer to his and whispered "You know what to do. I'll meet you by the Room of Requirements in ten minutes or else!" He let go of them and walked off. They knew where the polyjuice potion was located and knew the drill.

Draco walked along the hallway where the Room of Requirements was shouting at people to leave. He scared a couple of second year Ravenclaw students into tears but he did not care. He took points from them for crying and being weak. He needed the whole hallway to be cleared off. Finally, two small first year girls appeared together around the corner. One had a little pink bow in her blonde hair. The other small girl was darker haired. Draco couldn't help but smirk. He loved it when Crabbe and Goyle turned into wittle,ickle firsties. They look so small and pathetic. The pink bow killed him the most, it was just too funny.

"Why is there a bow in your hair Goyle?" sniggered Draco and watched Goyle pat the bow on the side of his head gently.

"I like the bow. Crabbe said it made me look pretty" said Goyle in a deep voice that should not be coming out of a small first year girl's mouth. Draco laughed holding his stomach, his face turning red. He wiped tears from his eyes and took a deep breath. He couldn't look at Goyle in his pink bow. He walked three times across the hallway thinking hard about the room he needs. The doors slowly formed, he pushed the doors open taking a step inside.

"You know what to do. I have two hours." he said over his shoulder at Crabbe and Goyle then closed the doors behind him. He stepped over to the black vanishing cabinet. His pale hands moved along the sides of it feeling the cool wood under them. He reached into his robe pocket to get his wand.

He spent two frustrating hours on repairing the cabinet and retesting it's abilities. He barely made any progress from the last time. He felt his chest tighten up after the last test, the birdcage was 3/4th there in the cabinet but not all there like he wanted. He slammed the cabinet door shut unable to look at it anymore. He turned away. He was running out of time, he has to get this cabinet fixed and knows the Dark Lord will lose his patience with him. Draco wiped the sweat from his brow feeling devastated. He had worked so hard on the cabinet.

He listened hard at the door then made a knock on it. He heard a soft knock to tell him it was alright to leave the room. He pushed open the doors and walked off. He did not say a word to Crabbe or Goyle. He couldn't bare to look at them or talk to them about his failed attempts. He remembered he has Prefect duties and bolted down steps to get to Professor McGonagall's classroom. Hermione was already standing by the door waiting with her arms crossed over her chest. Draco grimaced. He did not want to see her or have anything to do with her at the moment. He took a deep breath and headed over to the classroom. Hermione barely took notice of him which was how he wanted it.

"Right, both of you are here now it seems. Mr. Malfoy, you were almost late. Start at Slytherin first, then Hufflepuff, Gryffindor and lastly Ravenclaw. Off you go" said Professor McGonagall who had her head poking out from behind her classroom door. Hermione sighed loudly and walked off towards the dungeons of Hogwarts. Draco kept quiet the whole way there and sighed himself. He found himself at the familiar hallways near the Slytherin dungeon, he felt slightly calmer and the tightening of his chest loosened up and he could breathe better.

"You look very pale Malfoy. There something wrong?" asked Hermione as they roam the hallways for stray students to scold.

"What? I'm perfectly fine. Shut your mouth and patrol" he snapped at her. He walked ahead of her. He could hear Hermione grumble behind him then felt her sleeve brush against his fingers again. She had caught up with him again to walk side by side. He kept his eyes straight ahead but did not realise the corners of his mouth were turned down.

"You seem very unhappy. Did you and Pansy have a row with each other?" she asked seeming to be genuinely concerned. For some reason it put him on edge and he didn't like it.

"Just shut your mouth Granger. I don't have to talk to you about my personal life." growled Draco. Hermione shrugged her shoulders and stayed very quiet for a while. Their shift for roaming the hallways of the Slytherin dungeon was almost over before Hermione spoke again.

"Well, if you have had a row with Pansy, I'm sure she will forgive whatever you have said to her. You should go speak with her tomorrow" she said and looked up at him with concern in her brown eyes. Draco grit his teeth trying to stay calm.

"Granger, stop nagging me. I told you I am fine so drop it. Do I have to shove you against the wall again like last time?" he said through clenched teeth. He was starting to get a headache again. He rubbed his temples with his fingers. The Ravenclaw Prefects showed up finally to take their place. Hermione and Draco headed for the Hufflepuff hallways which were near the kitchens.

Draco's chest tightened up again thinking about the Dark Lord, failing with the vanishing cabinet and the failing attempt to kill Dumbledore. He did not want to die. He was too young to die, he had so many things he wanted to do. He held a hand to his chest and clenched at the front of his robes tightly. He couldn't breathe, the hallway was getting smaller. He did not notice that he was sinking to his knees to the cold floor. He was staring blankly as he thought about the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord will hurt him and his mother and his father. The people he loved will be hurt or worse killed. He did not want to feel the anger of the Dark Lord. He shuddered. The weight of what he has to do hit him hard. The pressure was too much to bare.

He heard a loud sob and realised it came from him. Hermione bent down beside him with a small hand placed on the back of his shoulders. She didn't seem to know what to do. The Great Malfoy was sobbing in the middle of the hallway. Draco hung his head as tears fell to the floor and sobbed harder. His other hand moved to his mouth muffling the loud sobs that kept coming.

"Malfoy...I..um...this is...er..." Hermione took shaky breath and started again, "Draco, you alright?" she asked and tilted her head to the side peering at him with deep concern. She has never, ever called him by his first name. It was oddly comforting to hear his first name even from the Granger girl.

Hermione did something that he would never expect from her. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment then gently pressed her hand against the back of his head. She pushed his head towards her small shoulder. Draco did not resist the gentle pressure from her hand. His head rest gently onto her shoulder. He closed his eyes and his hand covered half of his face. His body wracked with sobbing. Hermione patted his the back of his shoulder with one hand and the other gently held his head to her shoulder. She didn't say anything for which he was grateful for. She just let him cry.

Draco finally gathered himself together. The tightness in his chest lessened. His sobs subsided, he did not look up at her but he leaned in close to her ear. He heard her catch her breath.

"You tell anyone about this...I will hurt you" he whispered into her ear then pulled away from her. He stood up brushing his robes off and wiped his nose. He did not look at her as he walked off down the hallway to continue their rounds. He did not thank her nor did he want to talk about what happened. She did not need to know. He was emotionally drained. He needed to go to sleep. They walked in silence until their time was up for their Prefect duties for the McGonagall dismissed them once they reported to her. Hermione stood by the doorway looking over at Draco.

"Um...see you tomorrow Dra...er..Malfoy." she said and gave him a slight smile before she hurried off down the hallway. He watched her bushy hair and small form vanish around the corner. Draco shook his head and refused to say anything back to her. He trudged back to the Slytherin dungeon so he could sleep.


	4. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It has been almost two months since the incident near the Hufflepuff hallway with Hermione. Draco has kept his mouth shut. He hardly makes snide remarks anymore but he still pushes younger students out of his way like they deserve. They should move when Draco walks through the hallways and move quickly at that. He could barely look at Hermione and has stayed as far away from her as he could and the Golden Trio too. The Vanishing Cabinet still needed work and the Dark Lord grew more and more impatient. Christmas was coming up and he felt slightly happier about it. Hogwarts decorated at Christmas was a sight to behold. He usually does not have any mean remarks about how Hogwarts was decorated during Christmas.

Their last Hogsmeade trip was coming up fast and he had a plan for Dumbledore's death. He just has to get to the Three Broomsticks to get the oak-matured mead from Madame Rosmerta and have her poison it for him. He has to figure out how to get it to Dumbledore without it being linked back to him. He sat in his Charms class thinking hard on how to get the poison to Professor Dumbledore.

_Once Professor Dumbledore dies, hopefully the Dark Lord will be more relaxed about the Vanishing Cabinet. I wonder if the spells around the school vanishes once Dumbledore dies. I am so tired. I am falling behind in school and that stupid cabinet just does not want to be fixed. I should go back to the library to look at more books maybe in the restricted section. Snape would sign the slip to allow me to go I bet. He may ask me what I'm doing again. He needs to keep his greasy nose out of my business. I want to be a regular Hogwarts student again. I wish I had never joined the Death Eaters but I had no choice. It was expected and forced on me. Hogsmeade trip, right, I already have Madame Rosmerta imperiused. Heh, that was easy, stupid woman. So, poisoned mead. Wait, I know the perfect someone to deliver it to Professor Dumbledore! That Professor Slughorn. He is the potions master and the poison would be linked back to him. I am a genius. _

Draco smirked slightly to himself. he is a genius. Professor Slughorn was the perfect person to hand over the meade, as a Christmas present of course! He will imperius Professor Slughorn to give it to the headmaster. Yes, the Dark Lord would be proud of him and hopefully be kinder to his family once Dumbledore was gone. He could not wait for the next Hogsmeade trip coming up, only two more days away. He can hold out until then.

OOOOOOOO

Draco was able to shirk off Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle before the Hogsmeade trip. He does not have time to be with them. He saw Professor Slughorn leave his office in his fur collared cloak and hat. Draco stayed back and followed him to the Three Broomsticks. He hardly noticed Hermione Granger coming up the path to the Three Broomsticks as well at the same time. His gaze was fixed on Slughorn's back which disappeared once inside the Three Broomsticks. He has to get to him at all costs! His life depended on it! The plan has to work. Both Hermione and Draco reached the Three Broomstick's wooden door at the same time. Draco felt someone's body next to his and glanced down seeing it was Hermione. He jumped back surprised.

"What are you doing here Granger?" he asked angrily. Hermione glared at him before stepping over to the door and opened it.

"I'm meeting up with Harry and Ron. What are YOU doing here?" she asked him and tried to take a step inside of the pub. "Why can't I get in?" she placed her hand out in front of her pushing but looked like there was an invisible barrier keeping her out.

"Seems they don't want YOUR kind in here. Serves you right!" he smirked and shoves past Hermione and hit the barrier with his face. "Ouch! What is going on?" he held his sore nose for a moment and heard chuckling inside of the Three Broomsticks. Madame Rosmerta came out from behind the bar with a cloth in one hand.

"Couples who try to come in are stopped until they kiss each other. See, the mistletoe above your head?" she grins and points to the mistletoe hanging above both Draco and Hermione's head. Hermione made a gasp and took her head.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no, no. We...aren't..." she blushed slightly and gave a determined look at Madame Rosmerta. "We aren't together. We hate each other".

"Draco Malfoy and the Mudblood together? You pulling a mickey on us aren't you" said Draco and took a few step back but found that there was now a barrier behind him, they are in an invisible box. "I'm not kissing her ugly face!" he cried. "This is ridiculous!"

"Hurry up and snog the girl! You are letting in too much cold air" said an old man at the counter holding a mug of butterbeer. Draco gawked at the old man and Hermione seemed to have realised they are in a box and can not move.

"I am NOT snogging that...that...thing!" he shouted and pointed to Hermione. He was starting to cause a scene and more people looked over at them.

"I'm not a thing, I'm a person and you think I want to snog you? Just the thought of that makes me ill" she said nastily at him.

"I'm afraid you are quite stuck until you two snog each other. That charmed mistletoe is wonderful at detecting couples. You two must have some kind of feelings towards each other" said Madame Rosmerta and gave them a wink.

"WE AREN'T A COUPLE!" both Hermione and Draco shouted at the same time angrily. Madame Rosmerta just shrugged her shoulders with an annoying smirk before going to refill butterbeers at a nearby table. A few of the patrons chuckled at them which irked Draco even more.

"Just kiss her and close the damn door! It's freezing out!" cried another older man sitting at a table. He lifted his butterbeer and took a deep swig.

Draco looked up at the ceiling for a moment and shifted on his feet. He has to get inside of the pub and get to Professor Slughorn. He has to complete his plan because the Dark Lord was not forgiving. He steeled himself gathering up courage to kiss the girl beside him so they could be freed from the stupid box surrounding them. He closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head. His heart was beating so fast and loudly, he wondered if Hermione could hear his heart. He then opened his eyes looking down at Hermione who had an angry scowl on her face.

"Oh, let's just get this over with and never...I do mean...never speak of this again, plus I'm getting cold standing here" said Hermione exasperated. She threw her hands up into the air and turned her body to face him. "You ready?"

"I...er...what?" he felt so awkward standing there in the doorway with that stupid mistletoe above his head and people staring, waiting for him to kiss Hermione. "Fine, close your eyes, don't look at me." he scowled at her. Hermione scowled again but closed her eyes and tilted her head up so he could easily reach her lips.

He bit on his bottom lip for a brief moment. He could feel his cheeks starting to burn from blushing so hard. Do these people have to watch? This was so embarrassing. He bent down towards her, his heart beat faster and louder in his ears and his palms got sweaty inside of his black gloves. He has to kiss her so he can get into the pub he reminded himself. He has to do it. He closed his gray eyes tightly as he brought his pale face closer to hers. He can smell the light floral scent once more and he took a deep breath breathing it in. He lightly brushed his lips against Hermione's and was surprised at how soft her lips felt but they were cold. She did say she was freezing. He barely heard the patrons of the Three Broomsticks cheering when he kissed Hermione. All he could hear was his own heart beating and Hermione's soft breathing and felt like the world had stopped turning but for a moment. He gently pressed his gloved fingers against her cold cheek. He heard Hermione make a soft sigh, he pressed his lips lightly against hers again, her lips slightly warmer the second time.

He shoved her back again like she had burned him. Hermione made a soft yelp when she got shoved backwards several feet and almost fell into the snow and it seeed like the invisible box was gone. He had to get away from her, he looked angry but inside, he felt very warm and strangely had enjoyed the kiss. He wondered if she enjoyed it too. She must have because of that sigh she made and didn't pull away from him right after the first kiss and even stuck around for the smirked to himself as he walked into the Three Broomsticks and ordered a butterbeer at the counter.

He hoped no one from school saw him kiss Granger. That would be awful if someone did. He did not want rumors going around the school that they are together which was obviously not true. He leaned against the counter and quickly scanned around the room to see where the students are located. It seems most of them were seated near the back of the pub and too involved in their silly worlds. He spotted the Golden Trio in a corner with their heads together talking. Stupid Potter and Weasley. Potter and Weasley must not have known what had happened because neither one of them have come up to him about the kiss. In some ways, it annoyed Draco. He wanted to see their stupid faces contorted with rage at him for kissing their friend. It would be so easy to use against them both and make fun of Granger in some way on how she kisses. He personally thought she kissed perfectly but she nor that Potter and Weasely need to know that. Didn't he hear somewhere that that the poor, pathetic, ginger haired Weasely liked Granger? He was trying to remember who told him, most likely Pansy, and it was idle gossip so he dismissed it not really caring then.

His gray eyes went to Professor Slughorn to see what he was doing. The professor was busy chatting to a couple of old wizards. Most likely about potions or whatnot. Draco turned back to the counter and motioned for Madame Rosmerta to come serve him. He leaned his arms against the top of the counter giving her his most charming smile.

"Madame Rosmerta, I need one of your best oak-matured mead please. It's a Christmas gift" he said. Madame Rosmerta chuckled softly at him and reached under the counter, she pulled up a green bottle and placed it on top of the counter. He glanced down the length of the counter to see how close people were to him and was satisfied that there was no one around.

"Perfect as always Madame Rosmerta. Now, go upstairs and use this poison for me. Put it inside of the bottle then give it back to me." he said and pulled out a small vile of blackish liquid from his cloak pocket. He handed her the vile. Madame Rosmerta gave him a vacant smile and took both bottle and vile upstairs. He picked up his butterbeer and sipped on it slowly while he waited for the task to be done and watched Professor Slughorn.

Madame Rosmerta returned minutes later handing him the expensive and now poisoned mead. He watched Slughorn for another twenty minutes before Slughorn was on the move. Draco paid for his butterbeer and mead and followed behind Slughorn. This was a now or never moment. He has to imperius Slughorn and give him the mead. His plan has to work. Draco was slightly nervous and hoped things will go perfectly. On they walked towards Hogwarts. The street was covered in powdery snow that they walked on. He made sure to stay a ways back from behind Slughorn until the coast was cleared and only the two of them and the trees were left. He has to do it now before Slughorn realised someone was following him. Draco quickly ran up behind Slughorn with his wand in hand.

"_Imperio_" he whispered just before Slughorn turned around. He knew Slughorn's eyes had slid out of focus. Slughorn turned around to face Draco with a vacant expression on his face.

"Hello there." Slughorn said with a strange smile on his lips.

"Hello Professor. I have a task for you." Draco said and held up the glass bottle of mead. "See this? I want you to personally deliver this mead to Professor Dumbledore as a Christmas present. You understand?". Draco quickly handed the glass bottle to Slughorn's stretched out hand with a smirk. Perfect, so far, everything went smoothly. Better than he had hoped for! He was a genius after all it seems. That old man Dumbledore would not see this coming and he would die at the hands of one of his professors.

"Oh yes, I understand perfectly. I will give this bottle of mead to Professor Dumbledore. He will like it very much. It looks like it's the famous oak-matured mead from Madame Rosmerta. Fine choice. I have such excellent taste in present giving. Yes, Professor Dumbledore will like this very much" said Slughorn then he turned to continue walking back to Hogwarts with the mead cradled in his arm.

Draco laughed loudly. His plan had worked so well he even amazed himself. He has to get back to school and work on the cabinet though. That was one of the most important pieces to the Dark Lord's plan to take over Hogwarts. Draco noticed that the Dark Lord mentioned Hogwarts often, like he was very fond of it. He wondered why the Dark Lord seemed fond of Hogwarts.

Draco came up to the school steps with a smirk on his face. He shook the snow from off his black boots and walked inside to go to the Slytherin common room. He felt very good about how the day went. So good in fact, he didn't push a single lower classmen out of his way nor did he take off any house points from anyone for the rest of the day.


	5. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

He heard about how Slughorn has parties for the "Slugclub". He knew Slughorn will have a Christmas party before school ended for the holidays. He wondered if Slughorn had given Dumbledore the poisoned mead or maybe he will give it to him during the Christmas party. He has to find out. The mead has to get to Dumbledore.

Morning of the Christmas party, he walked into the Great Hall and happened to hear that Weasley boy ask Granger who she was asking to Slughorn's Christmas party. Draco stopped for a moment to hear her answer. He tilted his blond head towards the Gryffindor table. He strained his ears to listen over the chattering of students. Why did the students have to talk so loudly. He heard her say she was going with that idiot Cormac McLaggan.

_Why would Granger ask that insufferable idiot to Slughorn's Christmas party? Why is Weasl-be getting so upset? Wait, I think Granger really does like Weasel-be. He looks livid with her and she seems to be looking smug. That little...grr...she said that to make Weasel-be jealous and it worked! She is a devious minx! I don't want her to like Weasel-be. He's poor and and a ginger! I don't want her to go with McLaggan. He is such an idiot and she will be bored with him. Stupid McLaggan. Just wait until I find you. _

Draco stomped off towards the Slytherin table and pushed Crabbe and Goyle apart and placed himself between them. He grabbed a plate and piled who knows what onto the plate and started shoveling food into his mouth without tasting it. He looked so angry that Crabbe and Goyle were at least smart enough to not ask. McLaggan should be hexed and then pushed off the astronomy tower! No one will really miss him. Nope, no one will. Draco stabbed viciously at his toast with his fork and brought it to his mouth. Crabbe opened his mouth to say something about the toast on the fork but Goyle shook his head no.

"Get away from me you two." growled Draco. Crabbe and Goyle got up from the table mumbling to themselves and throwing angry looks at him. Draco tossed his toast and fork onto his plate loudly. He was not very hungry at all. He has to go find something to take his mind off that McLaggan bloke. He prowled the hallway look for anyone to pick on. He came upon some second year boys from Gryffindor trading chocolate frog cards. He waved his wand making the cards catch fire. The boys yelped in surprise and dropped their cards onto the flagstone floor. Draco laughed at their shocked faces. He shoved them both down hard causing them to fall to the floor. Draco walked off still laughing. He turned the corner and spotted Hermione puffing out her chest with her shiny prefect badge. She looked angry and Draco stopped laughing and became very serious.

"What do you want Granger?" he scowled at her and stepped closer. Hermione folded her arms across her chest tapping a foot.

"Why do you have to be so mean to the younger students?" she asked, she looked upset which Draco felt badly he had upset her. He sighed softly and attempted to step around her. He did not want to deal with her at the moment.

"Move out of my way Granger or I'll jinx you!" he growled at her and got his wand out from his robe pocket. Hermione did not take his threat seriously and stood her ground.

"I'd like to see you try Malfoy!" she said, she did not seem to believe the threat he gave her. She unfolded her arms that were crossed over her chest.

Draco finally pushed past her. His arm hit her shoulder and his hand briefly brushed against hers. Her fingers briefly wrapped against a couple of his fingers for a second. He smirked but kept walking down the hallway. He did not turn around to see if Hermione was still standing there or walked away as well. He could still feel the warmth of her fingers against his. His heart pounded in his chest when they touched. He secretly wished that she would have held onto his fingers longer like she didn't want him to go. He secretly wished that she would have come up behind him when he was walking away and wrapped her arms around his waist. He wanted to smell that light floral scent of her hair. He shook his head quickly to clear his head. He has an important task at hand to complete.

The night of the Christmas Party, Draco had snuck up the Room of Requirements to work on the vanishing cabinet for a couple of hours. He needed to use whatever time he had to work on that stupid cabinet. It seems to refuse to be repaired. He even searched in the restricted section for a book to repair magical items used for evil. He went to bed feeling despair each time he worked on the cabinet and felt the Dark Lord growing more and more impatient with him. He did not want to go home for the Dark Lord had taken over Malfoy manor. He knew if he went home the Dark Lord would hurt him for not working fast enough. Not working fast enough for the Dark Lord anyway. He doesn't know how many classes Draco has and how hard it was to sneak up to the Room of Requirements when he can to work on the cabinet.

Draco often found himself on the second floor boys lavatory that was not used by the students. He would vent to the mudblood ghost girl about the cabinet. She would try to console him when he came to the lavatory. Sometimes it helped him feel better and other times, not so much. He could not go to Crabbe or Goyle about how he felt and Pansy as well. They would more than likely blab about him being upset to his fellow students. Word would get out that he cries or gets upset and he could not have that. Sometimes, he wished he could go to Hermione and tell him the frustration he has with the cabinet. She was the smartest student out of all the 6th years. She could have a way of fixing the cabinet but it would be awkward for him and her to be seen together. They are suppose to be enemies after all.

Draco did all he could do for the night on the cabinet. He was exhausted and ready to go back to the Slytherin Common Room. He stood in the room for a minute longer thinking.

I'm tired but I want to see how the party is going. I wonder what Granger is wearing. She better not be having a good time with that McLaggan fellow. He makes me sick just looking at his ugly face. She had some nerve asking him to Slughorn's Christmas party. I wonder if Ron is furious with her. Serves him right, that nasty ginger haired git. I wish he would fall off his broomstick during quidditch and break his scrawny neck. Granger has awful taste in picking out the blokes it seems.

He stepped out of the Room of Requirements quickly and headed down the stairs. He wanted to see what Granger was up to. He did not hear Mr. Filch sneak up behind him and grab his shoulder. Draco grabbed for his wand and spun around to see the nasty squib. Mrs. Norris came around the corner mewing at her master. How dare that squib touch Draco! Squibs are as bad as mudbloods! He felt like he will have to scrub his whole body down in the bath after being touched by Mr. Filch.

"Caught yah! Thought you could try and sneak into Professor Slughorn's party did you? Well, I think not! You are coming with me" Filch growled and grabbed Draco by the cuff of his robe and pulled him. Draco's robe was digging into his armpits from his robe, he had a hard time moving his arms.

"How dare you! Wait until my fath...er...uh...you will be sorry for this you squib!" Draco yelled and saw Filch's face turn beet red with anger and tugged Draco harder.

"I'll be sorry? No, YOU will be sorry! Breaking school rules you are! Wish it were the old days. I'd toss you into the dungeon and hang you upside down as punishment you brat!" yelled Filch.

Filch opened the door to Slughorn's party and looked around for Snape who was head of Slytherin house. He shoved Draco into the room. Draco took a quick glance around for Granger. He saw the back of Harry's head. Stupid Potter. Then saw a smaller form next to him. Draco wanted Harry to move and almost shouted at him to move to see who it was. Harry finally did move and he saw Granger in a pretty dress and hair nicely done. His heart fluttered in seeing her. Hermione's eyes looked across the room and their eyes locked for a moment. He gave her a nod, he saw her cheeks flush slightly then she ran off. McLaggan showed up by Harry a moment later. Draco felt pleased that Hermione did not want to be around McLaggan. She was fast in trying to get away. He smirked to himself. His smirk did not last long in seeing Snape who looked angry. He did not want to be lectured by Snape tonight but knew he will have to endure it.

After the lecture by Snape in the hallway away from the party, Draco trudged back to the Slytherin dungeon. He was happy to see that most of the students had gone to bed since it was late. He took a bath then headed for bed. He laid on his bed relaxing with his eyes closed. Granger looked very nice at the party which the thought made his heart flutter once more. He was pleased that he was able to see Granger for but a moment. He thought about how she ran away from McLaggan which he laughed out. He heard Goyle make a loud snort and roll in his bed next to his. Draco closed his mouth quickly and smirked still thinking about McLaggan. He was happy Granger was not very happy at the party.

He saw that blush from Hermione. He wondered if she was thinking about the kisses in the Three Broomsticks or earlier that day when her fingers were wrapped around his. He wished he knew legilimency so he could read her thoughts. He briefly wondered how that power would be in reading other's thoughts. The Dark Lord could do it. Draco wanted to be able to learn how to close his mind so the Dark Lord could not read his thoughts. He knew the Dark Lord would be unhappy in finding out about the kisses, hand touching and hugging. He would also know how scared and worried he was about the cabinet.

Draco's eyes drifted closed, his mind went back to Hermione Granger in her party dress. He wished he was able to be at the party and speak to her. He wished she hadn't seen him be dragged into the room by that foul squib Mr. Filch. He will have to make that nasty...thing pay for embarrassing him in front of so many people. Professor Snape should be punished as well. He doesn't understand why the Dark Lord even forgave him when the Dark Lord returned. He knew Snape was giving him inside secrets about what was going on in Hogwarts. Granger did look nice tonight though. He was a little envious of McLaggan. McLaggan got to be near and talk to Hermione at the party but not him. Draco wished he was able to reach his wand at the party and give McLaggan the body-binding curse and fall flat on his stupid face. How nice would that be. His mind started to become blank as he finally drifted off to a pleasant sleep despite the cabinet and being embarrassed at the party.


	6. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Christmas had come and gone and weeks and even a couple of months had past. Christmas was a very terrible ordeal and he did not want to think about it. Draco waited for Dumbledore to die but nothing happened. He wondered if Slughorn became un-imperiused somehow or fought against the curse. Draco did not hear any news about the poisoned mead and it was putting him on edge. Had his genius plan backfired on him? It should not have! He thought the plan through carefully. He planned everything very carefully! The plan should have worked! And he is a genius after all! It had been a couple of months now. It was March! March first to be exact.

The grounds around Hogwarts were still frozen and cold. The winds were strong and bitter. He hated the cold and high winds. He hasn't seen the Golden Trio too much around Hogwarts. He has been so busy working on that stupid cabinet. That cabinet has taken over his life! He wished he was back on the Quidditch team. During Christmas break he had resigned from his prefect duties; Snape seemed to have understood but still had that nasty sneer on his ugly face when Draco asked to resign. He also hasn't seen Hermione which he would sometimes look over the tops of students heads in the hallway to see if he could see her brown bushy head. When he did happen to catch a glimpse of Granger's bushy head his heart fluttered. In classes with her, he would glance at her and wonder what she was talking about with stupid Potter and Weasel. Potter was starting to become a big nuisance. He stuck close to Draco sometimes and Draco has seen Potter hanging around the floor where the Room of Requirements was located.

"Draco, listen to me. I've been talking to you and you aren't listening!" squealed Pansy. Draco grit his teeth and looked at Pansy. Draco was sitting in the Slytherin common room late at night with Pansy on a squishy couch in front of the fireplace. Crabbe and Goyle were sitting around the fire eating cakes and pies and making grunting noises.

"You hardly have anything worth listening to Pansy" growled Draco and pushed himself closer to the other end of the couch away from Pansy. Pansy looked hurt from what he said and moved closer to him.

"Aw Draco, you are just grumpy!" she said and tried to stroke his cheek but he pushed her hand away. She pouted at him. "Fine, as I was saying, I was doing my Prefect rounds tonight and heard that that stupid Weasel boy got poisoned! He and Potter were in Professor Slughorn's office when it happened. Too bad he didn't die." she grumbled some.

"Wait, you said Weasel-be was poisoned in Slughorn's office?" Draco asked sitting on on the couch. His stomach clenched up in a knot. He did not want a student to drink the mead, he wanted Dumbledore to! This was NOT what he had wanted at all.

"Yes, just as I said! Weasel drank something and almost died. Potter saved him. I hate that Potter boy. I wish the Dark Lord would kill him soon! What is he waiting around for huh?" gripped Pansy and laid her head on Draco's shoulder. Draco shoved her off.

"Shut up Pansy. Shut your stupid gob! You talk so much it makes people go mad!" he said and pushed himself off the couch. He didn't care about Pansy's protests and pushed past Crabbe and Goyle. He was upset his planned had failed badly. He had to get the cabinet finished for sure now. His two attempts to kill Dumbledore failed miserably and the end of the school year was coming up fast. He was not sure how to get the damaged magical links between the two cabinets repaired. He does have some help from Borgin but it was not enough.

He trotted out of the Slytherin common room. He went straight to the floor where Moaning Myrtle lurks. He walked into the boys lavatory. He stood in front of one of the sinks with his hands on the sides of it. He looked at himself in the mirror. He looked pale and shaken. He had dark circles under his eyes.

"Back again? What is wrong?" asked a soft high-pitched voice from behind him. He saw the pearly ghost figure of Myrtle behind him. He moved a hand to cover his face.

"My plan failed Myrtle. The Dark Lord will be even angrier and will surely kill my family now. I can't fix the magical link between the two cabinets. It's too damaged. What am I going to do?" he asked in a shaky voice. Myrtle floated closer to him looking sad.

"Oh Draco, I know you can fix the cabinet. It will be alright." Myrtle said giving him a smile. Draco sat down on the cold floor in the lavatory with his arms around his knees.

"It won't be alright. My life and my family's lives are in danger. I wish I wasn't a Death Eater. I wish I was normal student. I want to play Quidditch and be with friends." he said. Myrtle sat beside him on the floor with her arms around her knees too listening.

"That stupid Weasel drank the poison and almost died. I didn't want a Hogwarts student to get hurt...even Weasel-be. Lucky Potter saved him." he frowned at Myrtle. He was trying to keep the tears from falling. "I'm a terrible person Myrtle"

" No, you aren't Draco. You are a good person. And you were forced into this whole mess. I'm happy that I can help and talk with you. I enjoy your company. I know you can fix that cabinet and I know you will be alright and your family too." she looked at him through her round glasses and gave him an encouraging smile.

"You really think I can fix that stupid cabinet?" Draco asked with a hopeful look. Myrtle nodded her head.

"I know you can" said Myrtle. Draco gave her a small smile before getting off the floor. He felt cold and tired.

"I ought to get to bed. It's very late" said Draco. "Thanks for listening to me again Myrtle." he gave her a wave. Myrtle nodded her head and waved back at him. Draco felt slightly better. Just after Christmas break he had met Moaning Myrtle for the first time in the boy's lavatory. He felt like he had someone he could talk to and came to the bathroom often to speak with her. He can fix that cabinet. He knows he can and Myrtle knows it too. He has to.


	7. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:  
The weather at Hogwarts began to warm up. Draco was tired of all the dreary weather and was happy to shed off his bulky winter robes for cooler spring/summer robes. He worked on the cabinet more and more with every chance he got. He was getting so close to fixing it he could feel it in his bones. Draco seemed to be in a lighter, happier mood. He still pushed smaller students around and bossed Crabbe and Goyle as well all of which made him happy. Snape has not been following him as much which pleased him. Potter, however, has not stopped following him. He had overheard Potter talking to Weasel and Granger a few days back about how he thinks Draco was up to something and that Draco was a bad person. Granger then said something that made Draco smile to himself. He couldn't help it. Granger had told Potter that Draco was not a very bad person and that he was not up to anything. Of course, Draco was up to something because he has to, his life and parent's lives depended upon the cabinet. The comment about him not being a bad person pleased him a great deal though. She was right, he was not a bad person.

He did wish, however, that he could tell Granger and his friends what he had been doing all these months. He had kept Voldemort's plan a secret and it was very hard to keep it as a secret. He only told that ghost of a girl that likes to creep in the girl's and boy's lavatory. He felt it was safest with her since no one liked to use those restrooms.

It was breakfast time, Draco sat with his goons on either side of him and Pansy across. He ate toast with marmalade and had pumpkin juice. His owl swooped into the Great Hall with a letter tied to it's leg. His owl hopped on one leg and held out the other looking proud. Draco untied the letter and told the owl to go away. The owl clicked his beak at Draco angrily then flew off.

"What have you got there Draco? Is it a letter...from You-Know-Who?" whispered Pansy and her eyes were on the letter. Draco rolled his eyes. He could not believe how stupid she was.

"No Pansy, it is a letter from my mother you twat" he growled at her. Pansy sniffed and turned away from him to speak to another Slytherin and ignore Draco. Draco opened the letter from his mother and began reading it. His pale face became paler as he read the letter. His breathing became faster and his hands shook. He quickly got up from the table knocking over his pumpkin juice. He hurried from the Great Hall to the lavatory where Myrtle stayed.

His mother had written that Voldemort has decided to give Draco until the end of June to complete his two missions. If he does not complete the missions, Voldemort told his mother than he will kill his father first, this his mother, then slowly torture then kill Draco for failing his missions. She wrote that she hopes the cabinet was almost finished and wished him well.

Draco grabbed hold of the cold sink in front of him having a panic attack and heard Myrtle trying to comfort him. The room was spinning and he couldn't breathe. Loud gasping sounds came from his throat and his body was shaking. Tears began to form in his eyes and he blinked them away quickly. He only has two months left! He felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. He did not want to be a Death Eater. This life, he did not want but it was pushed upon him by both his father and Voldemort. He glanced up into the mirror seeing Potter's face. It startled Draco. Potter had seen him at his most vulnerable! Draco whipped out his wand quickly and turned around to face Potter head on.

OOOOOOOO

Draco could not remember all that had happened. He remembered dueling with Potter then he felt a searing pain in his chest like a knife sliced him open. The pain was so intense and the blood kept coming from the huge gash across his chest. He remembered looking up at the ceiling for a moment thinking he was going to die and thought of his mother before blacking out. He did not know Snape came into the lavatory and brought the long gash back together on his chest. He did not know that Snape had quickly picked him up off the floor and carried him to Madame Pomfrey.

Draco opened up his gray eyes, he laid on a hospital bed feeling like a giant ran him over. His chest ached. He felt very weak as well. He heard Madame Pomfrey bustling about in the hospital wing.

"Oh! You are finally awake Mr. Malfoy! Professor Snape brought you in. Said you happened to be in the way of Peeves who was tossing about sharp objects! Really, Peeves should be tossed out of this school for such an awful prank! Professor Snape said he will speak the Headmaster about what Peeves had done!" said Madame Pomfrey. She placed a hand on his forehead to check for a fever then poured him a foul smelling purple drink called Dittany. "Drink this up my dear. It will help you heal up nicely and bring some colour back to those pale cheeks of yours. You will be staying here for the night."

"Peeves?" Draco asked stupidly. He was having a hard time understanding what Madame Pomfrey was talking about. Peeves? Then it dawned on him that Snape had brought him to the nurse to stitch him back up and get him on his feet again. "No, I can't stay here tonight. I have things I need to do!" cried Draco and tried to sit up but the room spun around so quickly and he fell back onto the bed.

"My deary, you need to stay in the bed. Tomorrow you will be in better shape and you can leave alright" she gave him a kind smile and held his head up with one hand and pushed the foul smelling purple liquid into his mouth. He sputtered and turned his head away. It smelled so bad he almost gagged. " You have to drink it love. It will help you heal up that angry gash on your chest and put you back to rights!" Draco held his breath and gulped down the liquid. It burned his throat and made his fingers and toes tingle. He needed to get better as quickly as possible. Madame Pomfrey let him go back to sleep.

He woke up again a few hours later seeing a get well card from Pansy with hearts of various sizes on it. He opened the card then quickly shut it. Pansy had bewitched it, it was her singing a lullaby. He shuttered and tossed the card back onto his bedside table. He saw half eaten chocolate frogs and acid pops, mostly Crabbe and Goyle had eaten most of the sweets. He turned his head towards the door hearing Madame Pomfrey speaking to a female student. He prayed that it wasn't Pansy trying to get into the hospital wing. He would fain being asleep if it was Pansy.

He sat up as best he could on the bed and saw Granger, of all people, come towards his bed. Draco scowled at her and turned his head the other way. He was very angry. He bet that Granger had come to gloat that Potter beat him in the duel. He wished he could find his wand. Granger, however, looked extremely upset when she reached his bed.

"Malfoy? You...you alright?" Granger asked and stepped closer to the bed. Draco turned to give her a glare that could kill. He wished it did kill.

"Does it look like I'm alright you stupid Mudblood? Your friend, Saint Potter, almost killed me! You think I want to speak to any of his friends, most of all you?" he yelled at her then felt dizzy. He laid his head back onto the pillow. He heard Granger sniffle very loudly which confused him.

"I wish Harry had gotten rid of that stupid book. I told him it wasn't a good book. That half blood prince person wasn't nice but Harry didn't listen to me." sniffled Granger and he could see tears brimming her brown eyes. He continued to glare at her. "He had no idea what that curse did Malfoy."

"What are you on about filthy mudblood?" he snapped at her, he was losing his patience. He wanted her out of the hospital wing. He hated her being there and hated that she was seeing him weak and injured.

"I mean, Harry found this potions book at the beginning of the year that belonged to a former student. The student wrote in the book about potions class and spells and curses. Harry read about one curse but didn't know what he did and used it on you. He used the _sectumsempra_ curse he learned from the book." sniffed Granger once more. She wiped the tears from her eyes with shaky hands.

"So, why are you here? You come to gloat that Saint Potter got the best of me have you? Get out of here!" he yelled at her and tugged on the bed curtain to block her from his view.

"No, of course I didn't come here to gloat. I came here to make sure you were alright! Harry is beside himself with nearly...well...he's very upset." said Granger from behind the curtain.

"I don't care that he is upset. I told you to leave." snapped Draco.

"Well, I am glad you are alright Dra..er..Malfoy. You will heal up quickly, Madame Pomfrey is the best healer. Sorry to have bothered you, I will leave." she said, he heard Granger move to leave. He pushed the curtain back quickly and grabbed her small hand to keep her from leaving. He could see the sadness and concern in her eyes. The fierceness in him ebbed away. He gently pulled her back towards his hospital bed. He did not want her to leave yet.

"I'm...um..sorr...I mean...I did not want to see anyone associated with Potter and thought you were here to gloat and report back to Potter." Draco said, his voice calmer now. He let of Granger's hand. "I'll see you in class Granger." he smiled weakly. Hermione smiled weakly back at him and touched his hand for a brief moment before walking out of the hospital wing. he could still feel the warmth of her hand against the back of his when she left. He smiled to himself. He was felt happy that Granger did come to see him after all. He thought that she was there to gloat at first and was so angry he could jinx her. He, however, hated Potter even more and hoped that next time, Potter would be the one in the hospital bed with limbs missing. He will heal up and Granger was right about Madame Pomfrey. She was the best, damn healer around.


	8. Chapter 9-Final Chapter

Chapter 9:

June suddenly arrived much to Draco's surprise. He could not believe how fast the time went by. He was so enamored with working on the cabinet he didn't realise the time had slipped past. He stood next to the cabinet with his wand pointed towards the cabinet. Red streams came from his wand surrounding the cabinet as he concentrated hard on repairing the blasted thing. He heard a very loud click and the cabinet gave a great shutter. Could it be the cabinet was finally fixed? He had to test it out. He pocketed his wand then grabbed a broken chair. He placed the chair inside then closed the door. He counted to three then opened the door. The chair had gone! He couldn't believe the chair had gone.

He quickly closed the door again and heard a thump from inside the cabinet. He quickly swung the cabinet door open and found a hat rack fully intact inside. His heart beat fast as he pulled the hat rack out of the cabinet and tossed it into a huge pile of junk near by. It had worked! Nothing was splinched or left behind. He, Draco Malfoy, had fixed the cabinet, he fixed the broken magical link between the two. Peeves had damaged the cabinet at Hogwarts a few years back, and now, the cabinet was mended and ready for use. He was pleased with himself. If Crabbe and Goyle were around he would be gloating nonstop. HA! He fixed the broken link! He smirked to himself then...a thought hit him...

This also meant that the Death Eaters would be coming to Hogwarts since the cabinet was fixed. He did not want them to come. The Death Eaters were on alert waiting for a message about Dumbledore leaving the school before the attack. Draco had to wait for the next time he leaves and gets an owl from Madame Rosmerta who was still imperioused and kept tabs on when Dumbledore leaves.

Draco glanced around the messy room. He had to clear a path from the cabinet to the door. He began moving piles of old spell books, trunks,ragged robes, wigs, bird cages, broken furniture and an old tiara out of the way. He made a path to the door for the few Death Eaters to arrive when he gave the word.

He stepped out of the room into the quiet hallway. No one was there, the hallways were nicely lit as he walked down, his robes billowing out as he walked swiftly. He walked down stairs and then saw, much to his surprise, Hermione Granger patrolling the hallways near the Slytherin dungeons. She had her back to him. He knew that onces the Death Eaters arrived later, she would never speak to him again. For some reason, this hurt him a bit. He did not want her to think he was a terrible person. She did not know that the people he loved were in danger, including himself. He had to let the Death Eaters in and he had to kill Dumbledore.

He rounded his shoulders then walked swiftly up behind Granger. He spun her around and held her small shoulders. She looked surprised and held her wand up to defend herself but saw it was Draco.

"What are you doing? Unhand me! You are out after hours and I will have to dock off points for this Malfoy!" she said shrilly. She tried to wiggle herself from his grasp but he held her fast. He was trying to figure out what to say to her. He looked at her angry face and brown eyes that sparked when she was angry.

"Gra..er..." he took a deep breath and began again "Hermione..." this caught Hermione off guard. Draco had never called her by her first name, she lowered her wand. Draco's gray eyes bore down into hers intensely, "Hermione...I wish...I wish I could tell you what is going on but I can't. I just want you to not hate me. Don't hate me please." he said urgently.

"Merlins beard, what are you talking about? What are you going on about Mal...er..Draco?" she asked and folded her arms across her chest covering her shiny prefect badge.

"I can't tell you but...I have to do what I have to do, the people I love..are depending on me...and don't hate me" he said and squeezed her shoulders firmly before letting her go. Hermione raised an eyebrow and took a step back from him.

"You are acting very oddly. Do I need to take you to Madame Pomfrey's?" she asked. Draco shook his head no. He wanted her to understand but he could not tell her what will happen very soon.

"I'm fine. I have to go" he said, his fingers stroked her cheek then he walked off. Her skin felt so warm and soft, he wanted to touch her once more. He heard her try to speak when he walked away but he had to go. He needed to leave her. He hoped she would not hate him after the Death Eaters come and Dumbledore was gone. He did not want her to hate him. He already hated himself for having to do what Voldemort asked.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Tonight was the night. The cabinet was fixed a couple of days ago and he had waited for Dumbledore to leave on a good night. His owl had dropped off a letter from that woman who worked in the pub. She stated that she saw Dumbledore leave with that Potter boy. Draco tossed the letter into the fire and watched it burn for a moment before turning away. He had to give a message. He picked up some powder for the fireplace and tossed it the knelt down beside the fire. No one was in the common room to hear his message.

"Malfoy Manor" he said and pushed his head further into the fireplace. He felt his head bob around then he recognized the grand dinning room of his own manor. It looked dark and dreary, no brightly lit candles and beautiful magical china and fancy furniture adorned the place. It depressed him seeing it.

"Mother? Aunt Bellatrix? " he called out from the fireplace. He heard his aunt cackle from somewhere in the room then her spidery form came from out of the darkness towards the fireplace.

"Here my darling nephew! You have good news I hope?" she whispered, her eyes bulging from her thin, pale face.

"Yes, good news. That the stupid mud-blood loving headmaster had left Hogwarts and took that good for nothing Potter with him. I don't know where but it's a good time for the Death Eaters to come. I will kill Dumbledore when he returns." he winced as Bellatrix screamed in laughter, she looked giddy with the news. "I'll put the death mark over the school and be in the Room of Requirements in fifteen minutes to let you in"

"Perfect!" Bellatrix hissed and gave him a smile. "I knew my perfect nephew would not fail the Dark Lord! We are so proud of you. Serving so faithfully to the Dark Lord"

Draco pulled his head out of the fireplace and coughed. He hated being in the fireplace and his knees felt sore from kneeling so long. He brushed off his soot covered face then hurried from the common room and made sure he had his instant darkness and Hand of Glory with him just in case, they were safe in the pockets of his robe. He had to get to one of the towers quick to put up the dark mark.

He ran to the Astronomy tower, no one was in the hallway to stop and ask him why he was out after hours. He took a deep breath and thrusted his wand up into the air once he reached the top.

"_Morsmordre_!" shouted Draco, large green smoke shot up into the air from his wand and formed a large skull, the mouth opened up and a huge snake came out of it's mouth. Draco put his wand back into his pocket. He felt antsy and did not want to be part of this plan. He ran as fast as he could down flights of stairs to the floor where the Room of Requirements was located. He had a stitch in his side from running so much. Few people began to run around the school finally having noticed the death mark in the sky.

He stepped into the room quickly and over to the cabinet. He was not ready for this, he was not ready for this at all. He heard loud knocking from inside the cabinet which caused him to jump. His pale shaky hands opened the cabinet door and his aunt unfolded herself from the cabinet followed by several more Death Eaters. He was surprised at how many showed up. He thought three or four would show up but not seven. He saw that one of them was that nasty werewolf Fenrir.

"Lovely to be back at school!" cackled Bellatrix and the Death Eaters all took their wands out. "Let's go" motioned Bellatrix. Draco was in the lead. He opened the door and noticed Ron, Ginny and that pathetic Longbottom on look out. He reached into his pocket quickly and pulled out some Peruvian Instant Darkness and smashed the powder against the floor. He heard Ron, Ginny and Neville all yell in surprise and bumping into walls and each other. He pulled out his Hand of Glory to lead his aunt and his fellow Death Eaters through the darkness.

After leaving the hallway, things fell apart. Professors came around the corner and hexes began to fly around him. He ducked as a red jet of light shot towards his head. He could hear his aunt screaming laughter enjoying the fight from behind him. The Death Eaters split up. He had to find Dumbledore and had a feeling he would show up at the astronomy tower since the death mark hung above it. He darted behind armor to avoid getting hit once more, students had started to come out and fight as well.

He hurried up to the tower, for a brief moment he thought he heard voices on top of the tower. He stepped out onto the tower roof and Dumbledore was there. Draco grew very pale and shaky. He had to do this. He had to kill Dumbledore. Dumbledore was speaking to him and Draco had a hard time putting the sentences together. He was so scared and nervous. Dumbledore said something about Draco being a good person and protection for his family? Did Draco hear right? Draco's wand lowered. He couldn't do it. He believed that Dumbledore could protect his family.

Everything went in slow motion. Draco saw Snape, Dumbledore spoke, Snape raised his wand.

"_Avada Kedavra_" shouted Snape. Draco could only turn to see the bright green light shoot from Snape's wand and hit Dumbledore in the chest. Draco saw the look of surprise for a brief moment then Dumbledore's eyes became glassy and blank before falling off the tower.

"No!" screamed Draco.

Snape grabbed Draco roughly and took him from the tower. Draco could not believe it. Dumbledore was dead. He died right before Draco's very eyes. Draco couldn't remember how he got out of Hogwarts and onto the grounds. It was a huge blur. For a second he saw bushy brown hair vanish behind a corner. Hermione! Curses and spells flying every which way, blood, people yelling, and confusion everywhere as Snape dragged him from the school.

"Go! Get off the school grounds! I'll meet you soon!" yelled Snape and shoved him towards the gates of the school hard. Draco stumbled and fell to the damp ground then got to his feet. All he could do was run to the gates. He was shaking so badly he could barely swing the heavy gates open. He stepped off the grounds of Hogwarts and closed the gates behind him.

He held onto the cold iron gates of Hogwarts looking back at his school. His face sad and concerned. His heart was heavy. Lights flashed in the windows, he could still hear yells. He knew what he had done. He hoped none of his fellow students were killed. He didn't care if any of the Death Eaters were killed. He knew he and his parents were safe now. Voldemort will be pleased that his plans had worked. Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of all time was dead. He also knew that Hermione Granger will hate him forever. This was the price he paid and hated himself. The guilt and terror he caused will haunt him forever.

The End

Again, I do not own any rights to Harry Potter and any of the characters, all of it belongs to J.K Rowling. This is a fanfiction of what I think happened with Draco Malfoy in J.K Rowling's 6th Harry Potter book "The Half Blood Prince". Any references from the book belongs to J.k Rowling.

Also, I do hope you enjoyed the story. PLEASE REVIEW. I know it's not a happy ending but I did follow along the timeline of J.k. Rowling's 6th book and we all know that Draco does not end up with Hermione in any of her books. I do plan to write a post Hogwarts story which will be happier and it will be a Dramione tale with romance.


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